wiredInUSA december 2018

Renewable plans

UK firm looks to the US

The Netherlands plans its use of renewable energy to reach 14 percent of the energy mix in 2020 and 16 percent by 2023. A major milestone will be reached in 2020 when Ørsted brings its Borssele 1 and 2 wind farms online. Nexans will supply between 170km and 190km of 72.5 kV subsea cable to provide the inter-array connections between the turbines and the offshore substations. Borssele 1 and 2 are located around 23km off the Dutch coast in 14m to 36m water depths. The two wind farms will have a total of 94 wind turbines generating 752 MW of power, which is enough electricity to meet the needs of around one million domestic households. Nexans has been awarded a contract by Ørsted to supply and install three-phase 66 kV copper cables with two cross-sections. These will be used for internal cabling of the wind farms: the array cables connect the wind turbines to each other and to the transformer stations, from where the electricity is transported to the mainland. The array cables for Borssele 1 and 2 will be produced at the Nexans Hanover plant, for delivery in 2019. Nexans’ subsea and land systems division will complete connection to the turbine bases during 2020.

JDR Cable Systems and McAllister Towing have established a memorandum of understanding for the development and collaborative operation of a US East Coast- based subsea power cable service base with an integrated cable training center. The new facility will be developed on an existing McAllister quayside waterfront property in the north eastern United States. The site has been selected for its proximity to the current offshore wind leases and what the companies describe as “the enormous potential of the region” in the use of renewable energy sources. Initially the base will serve as a staging area for subsea power cables to enable local storage, maintenance and deployment to the offshore wind fields. Longer term plans include office, storage, workshop and training facilities to develop offshore high voltage electrical and fiber optic competencies. David Nemetz, director for the Americas at JDR, said: “I amconvinced our joint venture will bring significant benefits to anyone interested in wind-related development of the East Coast of the USA.”

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wiredInUSA - December 2018